The Site Administrators oppose limitations of any kind on free speech. However, we are responsible for the character of the entire site and the enjoyment of the many who come here. Experience has shown us that people will get into arguments and will get carried away with their own eloquence, wit, or combativeness, turning what should be a spirited but civil exchange of opinions into flame wars, name-calling free-for-alls, and other brawls that diminish the cyberexperience for all visitors to the Classical Music Guide. Because human nature is what it is, we have a few rules that we expect members to follow. Here are the CMG rules:

PLEASE NOTE: When you register for the Classical Music Guide and want to make reference to a web site [URL], please be certain that your web site has reference to involvement about classical music, instruments, recordings, or a web site that identifies you as a performing artist or group, orchestra, etc. If this is not done, you and your web site reference will both be deleted. ALSO: if your e-mail address is fictitious, we will delete your registration. Please do NOT join the Classical Music Guide if you merely want to advertise your site or you have no interest in classical music. We are looking for active, responsive and contributing members to this site.

1. The first and only rule of conduct is civility. Disagreement is okay. Disagreeableness is not. No member has a right to disturb the quiet enjoyment of this forum by others. If you wouldn’t say what you are about to say to someone standing right in front of you, don’t say it to another member in a post.

2. Members agree to refrain from the following behaviors:
a. Verbally abusing other posters;
b. Using profanity, obscenity, or sexually explicit language;
c. Repeating endlessly the same arguments by the same combatants in the same thread;
d. Spamming;
e. Posting of pornographic photos or links to pornographic sites;
f. Continuing quarrels arising from members’ activities elsewhere, e.g., failed commercial transactions or personal encounters. This includes publicly posting the contents of PMs or emails that constitute private quarrels between members. Trust us, the folks here don’t want to hear about it.
g. Returning under aliases after being banned from here.

3. Posting to this site will be deemed consent to the CMG policies.

4. Posts containing the behaviors listed in paragraph 2 above will be locked or deleted as the Site Administrators deem appropriate.

5. The principal topic of the Classical Music Guide is classical music. If you want to transform a music thread into an argument about the intelligence, bodily attributes, or ancestry of another member, the site administrators will split the thread or move it entirely to the Pub.

6. Complaint procedure:
a. If a member finds comments by another member personally abusive or offensive, the first line of defense is for the offended member to ignore the offender and his or her posts.
b. If that becomes impossible, the second line of defense is for the offended member to communicate privately with the offender.
c. If that doesn’t work, the offended member should bring the complaint to the Site Administrators, who will take appropriate action.
d. In view of the fact that most complaints arise from exchanges between members on the BBS, we will not insist on members contacting offenders privately to resolve issues, but we personally think it is the most reasonable way to proceed with disputes resolutions. We realize that in a few instances all that that will produce is a private round of insults and hurt feelings.
e. If members wish to complain to Site Administrators about exchanges they have not directly participated in, we will request that the complainant at least attempt resolution with the offending member before contacting the Site Administrators.
f. Because the Site Administrators do not monitor the BBS 24/7, please do not expect us to launch a nationwide search for the post(s) you are complaining about. Include a copy of them with your complaint.

7. Banning a member:
a. The Site Administrators will not ban any member without discussing the proposed action with that member first.
b. However, this process has a short life span and if we don’t see noticeable improvement within a reasonable period of time, we will act, notwithstanding objections from the offending member, other members, or non-members.
c. We will be particularly swift to act if we see a noticeable decline of membership and we can trace that decline to the behavior of the offending member.
d. Exception to the procedures: If the Site Administrators discover that a banned member has returned under an alias, we reserve the right to ban immediately without warning or ceremony upon learning the identity of the person behind the alias.